Apparatus for perforating sheet material



Jan. 26, 1965 H. B. PARMELE ETAL APPARATUS FOR PERFORATING SHEETMATERIAL Original Filed Nov. 6, 1958 FIG. 4

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 V INVENTORS. HHHARRIS B. PARMELE,

M SABEL BLOCK 8. BY JOHN BERNER M fin-MY M ATTORNEYS.

1965 H. B. PARMELE ETAL 67,

APPARATUS FOR PERFORATING SHEET MATERIAL Original Filed Nov. 6, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS.

HARRIS B. PARMELE, BY M SABEL BLOCK ti JOHN BERNER ATTORNEYS,

United States Patent Ofiice 3,167,641 APPARATUS FOR PERFORATING SHEETMATERIAL Harris B. Parmele, Glen Ridge, and M Sahel Block, Bloomfield,N.J., and John Berner, Greensboro, N.C., assignors to P. LorillardCompany, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Originalapplication Nov. 6, 1958, Ser. No. 772,251. Divided and this applicationDec. 12, 1962, Ser. No. 260,089

2 Claims. (Cl. 219-384) This invention relates to tobacco products, andhas particular reference to methods and apparatus for making the same.

This is a division of United States application Serial No. 772,251 filedNovember 6, 1958, now abandoned.

In the search for methods of rendering inactive or impotent thosedistillation by-products of tobacco combustion believed by someinvestigators to be harmful to the smoker, it has been suggested that agreater flow of air through the cigarette with consequent dilution ofthe smoke would be beneficial in that such dilution would be accompaniedby a volumetric decrease in the supposed harmful by-products of tobaccocombustion. Accordingly, various proposals for achieving that end havebeen made, such as the provision of longitudinal separate air ductsthrough the cigar or cigarette, perforations in the wrapper throughwhich air is drawn between the combustion zone and the smoke, and thelike.

Although such arrangements for mixing additional air with the smokeprobably are beneficial to the extent that the added air dilutes thesmoke and therefore the combustion by-products, it has been found thatit is not merely such dilution that measurably decreases the quantity ofthe supposedly harmful distillation components of tobacco combustion,but rather that the added air modifies such components by oxidizing upontheir formation.

Considering that the distillation process proceeds at the temperature ofcombustion of the tobacco, which in a cigarette during a draw is on theorder of 880 C., the oxidation eflect must take place at the combustionpoint at that temperature. However, the supply of added air must beproperly regulated in order that the harmful distillation products maybe oxidized sufficiently to become effectively inert to the respiratorytract of the smoker. Thus if the supply of added air is too small,dilution and oxidation will be negligible or non-existent. On the otherhand, if the added air is greater than that required for completeoxidation, smoke dilution will result but the excess air exerts toogreat a cooling effect and thus precludes oxidation of the distillationproducts by lowering the temperature below the oxidation tem peratureand also causes condensation of the distillation components behind thecombustion zone, so that the lat ter including the harmful ingredients,are subsequently re-volatilized as the cigar or cigarette isprogressively consumed.

Therefore, aside from the uncertain degree of benefit resulting frommere dilution of the tobacco smoke with added air, the priorarrangements of air conduits, indiscriminate wrapper perforations, andthe like, have not resulted in any measurable decrease in theundesirable distillation components considered to be harmful,particularly the polynuclear or polycyclic hydrocarbons, because theyhave not provided properly regulated volumes of added air. An example isMuth Patent No. 2,304,009 of 1942, where perforations were provided inthe cigarette wrapper and an attempt made to space them so as tomaintain relatively uniform supply of added air as the cigarette wasconsumed for the asserted purpose of oxidizing carbon monoxide, without,however, any optimum 3,167,641 Patented Jan. 26, 1965 regulation of thevolume of added air to attain that desired end nor, since they were notmentioned, any decrease in the distillation hydrocarbons.

In accordance with the invention, methods and apparatus for making asmoking tobacco product such as a cigarette or a cigar are provided,wherein a carefully regulated amount of air is added during and inproportion to the degree of draw applied to the product by the smoker,whereby the distillation components are not merely diluted but areoxidized to a degree to render them inert to the respiratory tract ofthe smoker, all without material condensation of the same for subsequentredistillation as the product is progressively consumed.

The smoking tobacco product comprises a cigarette or cigar havingsubstantially uniformly distributed throughout its length a plurality ofapertures of diameters on the order of less than one hundred microns andin the optimum diameter range of between about thirty and about eightymicrons, which, by reason of their size are not only invisible to thenaked eye, but are so small that they act as one-way valves, admittingair during a draw in proportion to the degree of draw but not passingsmoke outwardly when atmospheric pressure is restored after or betweendraws so that no jetting of smoke occurs. Also the distribution of themicroscopic pores is such that volumetric regulation of the intake airprecludes material cooling of the smoke below the condensationtemperature of the distillation products.

A preferred method of this invention for production of the microscopicpores in the wrapper is by intermittent electric spark as the wrapperpasses between electrodes across which the spark is drawn, the frequencyof the spark and speed of the wrapping determining the spacing betweenthe pores while the intensity of spark determines the sizes of themicroscopic pores within the aforementioned diameter range.

The preferred apparatus for effecting the perforation of the tobaccoproduct wrapper according to the invention comprises a series of pairsof opposed wheels which are driven in opposite directions and each pairof which is spaced so as to provide the spark gap between which thecigarette paper strip or other wrapper strip passes. Each wheel of eachpair is engaged by a brush connected to opposite sides of the sparkingcircuit, so that when the circuit is intermittently completed a sparkacross the air gap and through the moving intervening strip burns amicroscopic pore through the strip, the size of the' pores beingpredetermined by the size of the spark and the spacing between them bythe frequency of the spark and the speed of the moving strip, theoptimum spacing being between about ten and about thirty per squareinch, but the spacing is not critical.

It will be seen that it is not merely the provision of apertures, butthe size thereof that provides the tobacco product of this invention andthat the method and apparatus for making the same afford an extremelysimple and inexpensive means for decreasing the supposedly harmfulingredients in tobacco smoke brought about by the distillation of thecomponents of the tobacco at the combustion zone thereof, therebyaffording a helpful adjunct to the conventional filter in the case ofcigarettes or, in some cases, making a filter unnecessary.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is an elevation of thepreferred apparatus for forming the proper microscopic pores in thecigarette wrapping paper, more than one, preferably four, layers of thepaper strips being perforated simultaneously;

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section therethrough as seen along the line 3--3 ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 shows a section of the perforated cigarette paper strip in whichthe size of the normally invisible microscopic pores is shown greatlyexaggerated for the purpose of indicating the distribution thereof inthe paper strip.

Referring to the drawings, numeral designates the base or back plate,preferably made of steel or cast iron and arranged vertically on asuitable support, not shown.

Mounted on a bracket 11 on the rear face of plate 10 is the electricdriving motor 12, which may be started by the usual switch, not shown.The shaft of the motor 12 carries a driving sprocket 13 over whichpasses the endless chain 14, to be further described.

Journalled on the base plate on suitable bearings 15 arranged in spacedpairs, such as the four pairs shown, are upper and lower shafts 16 and17 each having fixed at one end the corresponding sprockets 18 and 1?,which are aligned with drive sprocket 13 so that the chain 14 may passover them in the same plane. As shown particularly by the dotted line inFIG. 1, the chain 14 passes over the sprocket pairs 18, 19 so that thesprockets of each pair rotate in opposite directions but thecorresponding sprockets of all pairs rotate in the same direction, i.e.,the upper sprockets 18 all rotate in a counterclockwise direction andthe lower sprockets 19 all rotate in a clockwise direction.

Also mounted on each upper shaft 16 so as to rotate therewith is anupper electrode wheel 20 comprising an insulating hub 21 and rim 22 madeof electrical conducting material, such as brass, and serratedcircumferentially so as to provide four, more or less, contact or sparkrings 23. The cooperating lower electrode wheel 24 of each pair isconstructed in the same way with spark rings 23 and need not be furtherdescribed.

Engaging the four spark rings 23 of each upper electrode wheel 20 is acorresponding brush 25 supported on the plate 10 and connected by wires26 to one terminal of a conventional sparking device indicated bynumeral 27 in FIG. 1 and comprising in one suitable form the spark coiland interrupter of a Ford automobile. The coil is energized by asuitable source of electrical energy such as the battery B. Similarlyspanning the four spark rings 23' of each lower electrode wheel 24 isbrush 28 mounted on the plate 10 and connected by wires 29 to theopposite terminal of the sparking device 27, as is indicated in FIG. 1.

The brushes 25 and 28 are of spring metal and in addition to theirelectrical connection function, they are shaped to serve as scrapers forcleaning and maintaining clean the edges of the spark rings 23 and 23'of the wheels 20 and 24 that the brushes 25 and 28 respectively engage.

The spark rings 23 and 23 of each pair of cooperating electrode wheels20 and 24 are closely spaced to form a spark gap 30 best shown in FIG.3. The gap 30 is adjustable by adjusting the corresponding shafts 16, 17toward and away from each other on the base plate 10, which isaccomplished by loosening and tightening the nuts 31 which hold theshaft journals in place. The width of the gap 30 is determined by thethickness of the strip S which passes between the wheels preferably inseveral layers, such as the four layers shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The strip S is drawn from supply, not shown, but located at the left ofFIG. 1, over a guide 32, under the roller 33 on the upper end of asensing lever 34 pivoted on the back plate 10 and having acounterbalance weight 35 at its lower end. The sensing lever 34 carriesa normally closed mercury type switch 36 in the circuit of motor 12 andis so biased by spring 37 that itsroller 33 lightly engages strip S andwhen the strip becomes slack as when broken, the spring 37 tilts thelever to open switch 36 and stop motor 12. It also performs the functionof breaking the electrical circuit to stop the sparking;

otherwise the paper would burn.

The strip S then passes horizontally to the right over roller 38journalled on base plate 10, downwardly and to the left over roller 39,between the successive pairs of electrode Wheels 20, 24, under roller 40at the left end of the machine, around roller 41 and back under roller44 to the right as the second layer or pass between the successive pairsof electrode wheels 20, 24 to emerge at the left and pass around roller44, over roller 45 as the fourth pass or layer between the successivepairs of electrode wheels 20, 24 to emerge from the machine over roller46 to the conventional cigarette making machine, indicated in IG. 1 butnot further shown as well known in the art.

An electrical shield'47 encloses the moving parts just described and'ismounted on the base plate 10 with a removable screen 48 for observationand servicing through the open front.

The operation of the apparatus of this invention, additional to thefeeding of the strip S, which is preferably cigarette paper whichusually has a width on the order of 25 millimeters, comprises thefunctioning of the electrode wheels 20 and 24 in cooperation with thesparking device 27. The latter is adjusted so as to draw a sparksimultaneously through the spark gaps 30 of the several pairs ofelectrode wheels 20, 24 and thus through the several layers of paperstrip S passing between them in alternate directions as described. Thenumber of passes of strip S may be varied at will and in case the stripS is formed of reconstituted tobacco, one or two passes will sulfice,considering that it is considerably thicker than cigarette paper.

The sparking current density determines the size of the spark andconsequently the size of the hole or microscopic pore burned through thestrip S, whereas the frequency of the spark as provided by theinterrupter of sparking device 27 and the speed of the strip jointlydetermine the spacing between the holes or microscopic pores indicatedby numeral 54 in FIG. 4. As there indicated, there are four rows ofholes or microscopic pores 50 through the strip S, as determined by thefour sets of spark rings 23, 23' between which the spark isintemirttently drawn as described. At nine volts and 5 amperes withstock Ford automobile spark coils, the size ranges and percentagedistribution of the specified microscopic pores throughout two grades,marked A and B, of cigarette paper strip were as follows:

Diameter Range (Microns) A Dist, B Dist,

percent percent 55. 8 162 51. l 25. 0 20 6. 7 9. 6 28 9 3. 9 26 8. 9 3.9 7 2. 2 1. 9 7 2. 2 Over 80 0.0 None 0.0

Total. 340 307 55. 6 162 52. 7 44. 4 47. 3 Over 80- None None It will beobserved that the optimum diameter range is between thiry and eightymicrons and it has been found that the diameter should not be greaterthan one hundred microns. However, the spacing is not critical butsatisfactory results are obtained when the microscopic pores 59 arespaced between about onefourth and one-half inch in any direction orbetween about ten and about thirty per square inch of strip.

Inasmuch as the added air drawn into the combustiondistillation zonethrough the microscopic pores 50 during a draw on the cigarette performsits oxidizing function immediately at that zone, the longitudinalspacing of the pores behind the combustion zone is not critical sincethey act merely as diluting ports, providing the dilution is not toogreat to cause excessive cooling and therefore condensation of nowharmless distillation components, having the effect of impairing theflavor of the smoke during the remainder of the smoking operation.Accordingly, the size and spacing of the pores 50 at the distill ationZone is the important consideration and that is efiected by thedimensions and distribution of the microscopic pores 50 as heretoforedescribed, plus the added advantage of the one-way valve effectprecluding jetting of smoke between draws. The same conditions apply tosmoking articles bearing a wrapper of reconstituted tobacco.

Although preferred embodiments and operations of the new method andmachine for making the smoking article have been illustrated anddescribed herein, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereby except to the extent defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for perforating sheet material, the combination of apair of Wheels each having electrical conducting rims and mounted forrotation in substantial peripheral contact, driving means for rotatingat least one of said wheels, means for feeding sheet material betweensaid wheels in the direction of rotation thereof, electrical sourcemeans for creating an electrical tension across said wheel rims fordrawing a spark between them, and intermittent make-and-break controlmeans interposed between said source means and said wheel rims, aconducting brush engaging the rim of each of said wheels and interposedbetween said control means and the corresponding wheel rim forconducting the electrical sparking impulses thereto and simultaneouslycleaning the same, whereby said sheet material is perforated by thespark drawn across said wheel rims as the material moves through the gapcreated thereby between said wheel rims.

2. The appanatus set forth in claim 1 in which said brushes comprisespring metal strips having scraping edges for cleaning said rims.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,372,508 Meaker Mar. 27, 1945 2,385,246 Wilsey et a1 Sept. 18, 19452,401,841 Singer June 11, 1946 2,528,157 Menke Oct. 31, 1950 2,545,208Meaker Mar. 13, 1951 2,756,317 Dresser July 24, 1956 2,992,647 FiggeJuly 18, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 570,440 Belgium Sept. 15, 1958 593,891Great Britain Oct. 28, 1947 OTHER REFERENCES New Paper Cools Cigarettes(piece), The Washington Post-Times Herald, page 17, March 30, 1954.

1. IN APPARATUS FOR PERFORATING SHEET MATERIAL, THE COMBINATION OF APAIR OF WHEELS EACH HAVING ELECTRICAL CONDUCTING RIMS AND MOUNTED FORROTATION IN SUBSTANTIAL PERIPHERAL CONTACT, DRIVING MEANS FOR ROTATINGAT LEAST ONE OF SAID WHEELS, MEANS FOR FEEDING SHEET MATERIAL BETWEENSAID WHEELS IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION THEREOF, ELECTRICAL SOURCEMEANS FOR CREATING AN ELECTRICAL TENSION ACROSS SAID WHEEL RIMS FORDRAWING A SPARK BETWEEN THEM, AND INTERMITTENT MAKE-AND-BREAK CONTROLMEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID SOURCE MEANS AND SAID WHEEL RIMS, ACONDUCTING BRUSH ENGAGING THE RIM OF EACH OF SAID WHEELS AND INTERPOSEDBETWEEN SAID CONTROL MEANS AND THE CORRESPONDING WHEEL RIM FORCONDUCTING THE ELECTRICAL SPARKING IMPULSES THERETO AND SIMULTANEOUSLYCLEANING THE SAME, WHEREBY SAID SHEET MATERIAL IS PERFORATED BY THESPARK DRAWN ACROSS SAID WHEEL RIMS AS THE MATERIAL MOVES THROUGH THE GAPCREATED THEREBY BETWEEN SAID WHEEL RIMS.